I have the Krause Guidebooks for Franklin Mint issues, John. They are great for telling you what came out of the mint, but the real question for token collectors is what happened after that.

How many destroyed?
When were they last used?
How many collector sets were broken up for silver when the price went to $50?
Are any dealers sitting on barrels full of them? (I don't think so)

I have to say I wasn't watching this kind of thing when I played in the 60' s and 70's, as I only started collecting in the last 5 years.

I did learn one thing of interest as a result of this question:

I would have bet all the half dollars for Las Vegas casinos were made by either Franklin Mint or Osborne Coinage. Not so... the 1971 half for Caesars Palace was made by Wellings Mint according to Janice's checklist,
and I've never seen one!

The "Silveen" halves (and a couple of dollars) made by Osborne Coinage may be the real sleepers in the token area from an investment point of view. There are just a handfull of these around and they still aren't too high priced. Look for the Sahara, Diamond Jims, and Pioneer Club halves and buy them up to $75 each if you're looking for a good speculation. The Hewett Bros. booklet on Nevada Gaming Tokens is the best information source I've found on these early tokens.

DonL